Release-rigging.



- 0. ANDERSON. RELEASE RIGGING.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 19, 1912.

Patented Nov. 10, "191% "UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OLOF ANDERSON, OF GHICAQO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB TO WALTER 1 MURPHY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BELEASE-RIGGING.-

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 19, 1912. Serial No. 715,787.

To all whom it may concern .1

Be it known that I, OLOF ANDERSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Release-Rigging, of which the following is a specification.

My object is to provide a release-rigging for car-couplers of a simple, strong and durable construction, which will operate as a means to unlock the coupler in the event of such injury to the draft-rigging as Will permit the pulling out of the draw-bar.

It happens not infrequently in the handling of long and heavy trains, or in careless switch ing, that a part of the draftrigging of a car will give way under excessive shock or strain and permit the drawbar to be pulled out. The draw-bar when pulled out drops to the road-bed or upon the track, whereby it is apt to become injured beyond repair, injure other parts or even derail the car.

One purpose of my invention is to overcome, or at least greatly reduce, danger of the complete pulling out of a draw-bar by providing means which will operate automatically to raise the locking pin and unlock the coupler whenever the draw-bar is pulled beyond a predetermined distance, whereby uncoupling will take place before the draw-bar is pulled out far enough to drop from its support.

In the accompanying drawing, I show a release rigging which, except as to the particular part forming the automatic safety feature of the construction, may be regarded as of conventional form.

Referring to the drawingFigure 1 is a plan view; Fig. 2, a front elevation; and Fig. 3, a side elevation of a release-rigging constructedwith my improvement.

J ournaled in a common manner in brackets 4, 5, on the end sill 6 of the car, is a rod or rock-shaft 7 provided at-its outer end with a downwardly-extending handle 8 and at its inner end with a normally horizontally-extending crank-arm 9. The end of the crank arm 9 is bent to form an inclined loop 10. Extending looselyv in a hook 12, which engages the locking pin 13 of the coupler. The lever 11 is normally horizontal, or approximately horizontal, resting upon the part 14 of the loop and pearing upward against the part 15 of the oop.

Turning of the handle 8 rocks the crank 9 and lifts the lever 11. to raise and unlock the pin 13. The lever 11 has a shifting or floating connection with the loop to permit lateral movement of the draw-bar, While the train is rounding curves. The surface 14 of the loop on which the lever 11 rests is normally horizontal or substantially so for a stretch sufficient to permit the drawbar to travel to the limit of its movements under pulling and buffing strains. Any movement of the draw-bar beyond the limit provided for pulling strains will cause the lever 11 to move in an upward direction upon the inclined part, or cam-surface, of the loop, thereby raising its hook-end and lifting the locking pin 13 to unlock the coupler. Thus, in the event ofany injury to the draft-rigging which would permit the pulling out of the draw-bar, such pulling out is prevented because when the draw-bar moves beyond a. predetermined limit it is released from engagement with the coupler of the adjacent car and is thereby prevented from being pulled from its support.

The foregoing description is intended to convey a clear understanding of my improvement in what I now believe to be the best and simplest form of its embodiment, and no undue limitation should be understood therefrom. It is my intention to claim all that is novel in my invention and that the claim shall be construed as broadly as the prior state of the art may Warrant.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is In a release-rigging for car-couplers,the combination of a rock-shaft bent adjacent its inner end to form a crank, and having its end bent outwardly at an upward incline and thence rearwardly and inwardly to form a horizontally extending loop. the inclined initial bend of said loop forming a cam surface, a laterally-swinging pin-operating lever passing over the crank and Patented Nov. '10, 1914.

under the rearward bend of said loop and and unlock the coupler when the latter is loosely confined therein, the said pin-opermoved under pulling strainbeyond a preating lever being adapted to be lifted bodily determined distance.

by the crank when the same is raised and OLOF ANDERSON. 5 thereby lift the pin into coupler-unlocking In presence. of

position, and the cam-portion of the loop J. G. ANDERSON,

being adapted to raise the lever and pin R. A. SCHAEFER. 

